The rosary is a form of combined prayer and meditation that has
been around for over 1200 years. The origin of the rosary dates back to
the ninth century where Irish monks would recite and chant the 150 Psalms of the
Bible as a major part of their worship. People living near the monasteries
were drawn towards this beautiful and harmonious devotion, and they became very
eager to join in with the monks' prayers.

The 150 Psalms of the Bible

Unfortunately, the people were
not able to adapt to this form of prayer because the psalms were very hard to
memorize and printed copies of the psalms were not readily available. As a
result, it was suggested to the people outside the monastery that they recite a
series of 150 "Our Father" prayers in place of the psalms.

As this form of devotion became increasingly popular, people
started to devise methods in order to keep track of their prayers. At
first, 150 little pebbles were placed inside small leather pouches to keep
count. Since this method was rather troublesome, a thin rope having 50
knots on it was used instead (it was used three times for a total of 150
prayers). Eventually, the instrument of choice became the use of string with
small pieces of wood.

In later years, the Irish monks traveled throughout Europe and
brought this form of devotion with them. In some areas, both clergy and
lay people began to recite the "Angelic Salutation" (the first part of what we
now know as the "Hail Mary") as part of this devotion. The popularity of
this prayer led to the adoption of 50 Angelic Salutations being said for each
piece of wood or knot on the prayer string.

During the 13th century, Medieval theologians began to interpret
the 150 psalms as veiled mysteries about the life, death, and resurrection of
Jesus Christ. They began to write a series of Psalters, or praises, in
honor of Jesus for each interpretation of the psalms. In addition, 150
Psalters honoring Mary were also composed. In order to fit the existing
prayer string, these Psalters were divided into groups of 50 and were referred
to as "Rosariums". Although "rosarium" refers to roses and rose gardens,
it was used to signify a collection of prayers which could be compared to a
bouquet of roses.

As we see today, the rose is a very popular symbol
associated with our Blessed Mother Mary and it is a sign that she often uses as
she did in the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The interpretation of the psalms into written Psalters lead to
the implementation of special thoughts or meditations being attached to each
bead. This innovated version of the rosary was widely spread by Blessed
Alan de la Roche of the Dominican Order, as it revived the divinely inspired
works that St. Dominic and his Rosary Confraternity had initiated some hundred
years earlier. The prayers of the Rosarium were later broken out into sets
of 10 and these groupings became known as decades. Each decade of ten
"Hail Mary" prayers would be
preceded by one "Our Father".

Around the year 1700, the thoughts used in the rosary started to
become narratives. St. Louis de Montfort composed the most common set of
narratives that eventually became used as meditations for each decade of the
rosary. These narratives were divided into five Joyful, five Sorrowful,
and five Glorious meditations that are referred to as "mysteries". Just
recently, in 2002, Pope John Paul II introduced another set of five meditations
referred to as the "Luminous Mysteries".

As you can see, the rosary we know today is the result of many
evolutions dating back several hundred years. Although the manner in which
the rosary is recited has changed, the results of praying the rosary are still
the same. Countless interventions still occur today, and the power and divine
graces the rosary offers are available to everyone who is willing to give it a
chance.

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Rosary Promise #8:

"Those who are faithful to recite the rosary shall have during their life and at their death, the light of God and the plentitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise." See also: 15 Promises of the Rosary...